Current Affairs Quiz - April 2022

Notes:
The venture capital fund (VCF) scheme was implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to help aspiring entrepreneurs belonging to SCs and OBCs new businesses. As the performance of the scheme is not satisfactory, the Ministry is set to launch a “mentorship” programme.
Named the ‘Ambedkar Young Entrepreneur-Mentor’ (AYE-Mentor) programme, the IFCI Venture, which is the VCF manager, will empanel businessmen or heads of companies or veterans of banking and financial institutions, as ‘mentors’.

Notes:
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur launched the logo, jersey, mascot and anthem of the Khelo India University Games 2021 (KIUG 2021).
The mascot is an elephant named as ‘Veera’. The event to be held in Bengaluru, postponed due to the ongoing Covid crisis last year, will be the second edition of KIUG. It includes Yogasana and Mallakhamb for the first time.

Notes:
The first day of the lunisolar calendar’s month of Chaitra is celebrated as Gudi Padwa. It is predominantly celebrated in the state of Maharashtra.
The same day is celebrated as Ugadi (Yugadi) in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. It is also celebrated as ‘Chaitra Navratri’ in some other parts of the country.

Notes:
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy digitally inaugurated 13 new districts in the state, taking the total number to 26.
All the new districts have come into effect from April 4. The state government issued the official gazette notification for creating 13 new districts under the AP Districts Formation Act, Section 3(5).

Notes:
The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released the Part C of its sixth assessment report. The main finding of the latest IPCC report is that the world must focus on reducing dependency on fossil fuel.
The report mentioned Kolkata in respect of shifting from private to public transport. It highlighted that the urban mobility transitions in Kolkata show interconnected policy as well as institutional and socio-cultural drivers for socio-technical change.

Notes:
As per the official data, India’s trade deficit rose 87.5 per cent to USD 192.41 billion in 2021-22 as against USD 102.63 billion in the previous year.
While total exports during last fiscal year increased to a record high of USD 417.81 billion, imports too rose to USD 610.22 billion, causing a trade gap of USD 192.41 billion.  For the first time, India’s monthly merchandise exports exceeded USD 40 billion, reaching USD 40.38 billion in March 2022.

Notes:
According to the latest data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), Chhattisgarh has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, at 0.6 per cent.
The country’s unemployment rate stood at 7.6 per cent in the same month (March). As per the data, Haryana has the highest unemployment rate at 26.7 per cent, followed by Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. The state has launched various schemes including Suraji Gaon Yojana, Narva-Garva-Ghurva-Bari programme, Godhan Nyay Yojana, Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana etc.

Notes:
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the first set of Gaganyaan hardware to the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO).
The PS2 stage is the second stage of the PSLV launch vehicle in which propellants, which can be stored in the Earth are used for propulsion. In October 2021, the heaviest Semi-Cryogenic propellant tank (SC120- LOX) ever fabricated by HAL was delivered to ISRO.

Notes:
US space agency NASA has started the testing of its giant flagship Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
It is also known as the wet dress rehearsal, as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen will be loaded into the rocket. The 322-foot rocket is expected to be the most powerful in the space history when it becomes operational.

Notes:
The United Arab Emirates has been selected as the host country of COP28 Climate Summit 2023. The UN Climate Summit is to be held at Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi announced that it would start banning single-use plastic bags from June. It plans to completely get rid of single-use styro-foam cups, plates and food containers by 2024. UAE has also declared it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.